In Jamie and Theo’s future...

Theo sits in complete silence, scribbling notes and ideas into a notebook he bought for this event specifically. Jamie’s 24th birthday was coming up on July 11th (it was July 5th) and he couldn’t think of a present idea. The vampire sighs and furrows his brow, thinking for one more moment before giving up and standing to ask for another coffee. He checks the time, and smiles when he sees that Jamie should be out of class soon.

He walks to the counter and hands the barista his cup, and as they’re making his drink, Theo asks about presents.

“Well, what does he like?” They ask, and Theo smiles.

“Um... He likes singing! He’s in the music program here, for choir,”

“Does he have a particular composer he likes? Or maybe a piece that means a lot to him?” Theo wracks his brain and thinks for a moment. He shakes his head.

“Not that I can think of,” The barista thinks for a moment, then hands Theo his cup.

“Maybe focus on planning a birthday party and you can think about the gift later,” They smile to Theo and give a friendly nod when he thanks them and turns to leave.

A cool breeze makes the heat of July a bit more bearable. It was never this warm in Montana. The sun feels odd on Theo’s skin, it was like someone was pressed against him. He checks the time and begins walking down the street to get Jamie from his class. His eyes remain glued to his feet while he gets lost in thought.

Maybe I could throw him a surprise party of sorts? Or-

“Hey!” Jamie’s voice interrupts the thought. Theo smiles and looks up to see Jamie toward the edge of a group of friends. Theo puts a hand up in greeting and picks up his pace.

“How was class?”

“It was fine,” Jamie shrugs, “I’m so glad I’ve got a few good friends in there to make it bearable,” He laughs and runs his shoulder into Theo’s arm.

“I’m glad it was alrighty then,” Theo smiles and takes Jamie’s hand, making a mental note to ask who Jamie’s friends are.

Over the next week, Theo finds and buys pieces of music that were meaningful to Jamie. He was never particularly crafty, but it was nice to get to practice. The music was cut into thin strips and then made into a simple collage. Theo sketched a portrait of Jamie onto the music. The end result was beautiful- Theo smiled with pride at his work and sighed with relief when it was finished.

He had also gotten in contact with some of Jamie’s closest friends. They were all thrilled by the idea of a surprise party; they were even thrilled enough to help plan and pay for the whole thing. As Jamie’s birthday drew nearer, the plan fell perfectly into place. All Theo had to do was execute it.

When July 11th rolls around, Theo’s composure deteriorates, “Okay, so after choir class, you’re going to bring Jamie back here, right?” Theo stumbles over his words. Despite his usually calm, collected appearance, he was fretting nonstop. One of Jamie’s friends, Marnie, grabs Theo’s hands from his sides and holds his gaze.

“Yes, Theo. Please stop worrying. It’ll all work out,” They squeeze his hands, then let go. It gave him an uneasy feeling, being touched by another person. Marnie’s voice reminded him of his mom in an eerie way.

“Are you sure?” Theo’s voice thins out, and he furrows his brow in thought when people tell him yes. Someone calls out the time and Jamie’s friends begin gathering to head out. It was time for choir.

“Theo, will you be okay setting up the party on your own?”

“Yeah, I’ll be okay,” Theo bends to pick up balloons from a box.

“Okay, keep an eye on the time! 5:30?”

“5:30,” Theo shudders at the thought.

Great. Two hours and Jamie’ll get to come home to...

“...A pathetic party,” Theo sighs and sits down, rummaging through a box to find something. He wasn’t sure what though- some confidence, maybe? His hands find streamers and he idly messes with the thin paper. Theo stands, then begins setting up the party. 

I won’t let it be pathetic, then.